Nature of Environmental Education in Bangladesh: A School Level Assessment with Reference to the National Curriculum

Abstract

This paper attempts to identify the nature of formal environmental education in Bangladesh at school level with particular reference to the national curriculum. The main objective of the study is to assess the contents of the school text books for each standard, and to see whether the diversified themes covered are a good representation of contemporary environmental issues or not. Attempt has also been made to examine the organizational aspects of the prescribed text books for each standard. The overall finding is that the school textbooks on environment are found not only ill organized but also there is a lack of integrity for logical progression; there is ample scope to include emerging  issues such as climate change and human adaptation in the Curriculum. Revision of the Curriculum, re-orientation and reorganization of the textbooks with an interdisciplinary and holistic approach are strongly recommended.

Keywords

• Environmental degradation, ethics, climate change, ecosystems and sustainable development.

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